Getaway driver in 2010 Main killing in Woonsocket gets 40 years

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A federal judge Wednesday sentenced the man who drove the getaway vehicle after Jason Wayne Pleau shot and killed gas station manager David D. Main to 40 years in prison for his role in the deadly robbery.

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By
Katie Mulvaney
Posted Feb. 13, 2014 @ 2:19 pm

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A federal judge sentenced the driver of the getaway truck in a 2010 killing outside a Woonsocket bank to 40 years in prison, saying the only difference between him and the shooter, Jason Wayne Pleau, was that Pleau pulled the trigger.

U.S. District Chief Judge William E. Smith was sure, he said, that Jose A. Santiago would return to a life of violence and intimidation without a lengthy sentence. Plus, he said, there should be little disparity between Santiago’s and Pleau’s sentences because of their dual roles in the armed robbery and fatal shooting of gas station manager David D. Main in September 2010.

Santiago pleaded guilty in September, on the eve of trial, to plotting with his then girlfriend, Kelley Marie Lajoie, and Pleau to rob Main as he went to the bank to deposit the station’s proceeds. Pleau was the masked gunman who shot Main as he ran toward the bank door. Santiago and Pleau then split the $12,542 in stolen deposits.

Pleau pleaded guilty in a deal that spared him the death penalty but left him in prison for life without the possibility of parole. Lajoie, who admitted acting as the lookout, is scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday.

Santiago, 36, of Springfield, Mass., sat with his head down as Main’s mother and then his wife, Kathy, spoke. They told of Main’s hard work, kind ways, and affection for his family.

He was the type of father, Kathy said, who changed diapers and attended his son Michael’s band concerts. Telling the 17-year-old that his father had been stalked, ambushed and killed at the bank was the worst part of the ordeal, she said.

“I love him and I miss him,” she said, maintaining her composure as family members looked on, some in tears. Main, a longtime Lincoln resident, was 49 at the time of his death.

In asking for a 40-year sentence, Assistant U.S. Attorney Adi Goldstein recounted Santiago’s violent past, beginning as a teen. He had stolen guns; robbed restaurant owners at gunpoint; beat the mothers of his five children as the children looked on; and failed to hold a job or pay child support.

“He is a career criminal who joined forces with a career criminal,” Goldstein said, adding, “He has no place among the decent, hardworking people of the state.”

Santiago’s lawyer, John L. Calcagni III, asked for mercy. People, he said, cannot be viewed in a vacuum.

“Mr. Santiago wasn’t born an evil man. He wasn’t born a career criminal,” he said. Santiago’s childhood was one of domestic violence, sexual abuse, malnourishment and being shuffled through foster homes, he said.

“I would suggest to the court that a life for a life is not justice,” Calcagni said.

Santiago, too, addressed the court as his children wept in the back row.

“I cannot run from this. I have been a criminal all my life,” Santiago said. He asked for forgiveness.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I can’t change it. I know I hurt them,” he said, gesturing to the Main family. “It’s a process. I just hope that whatever the sentence is it will help them heal.”

Santiago, with a beard and shoulder-length hair, said he wanted his son “to look at all the hurt I caused this family.”

“I’m just sorry. I can’t say no more,” Santiago said, himself in tears.

Smith said that though Santiago’s remorse seemed sincere, he would accept the government’s recommendation of 40 years.

Smith sentenced him to 240 months for conspiracy to commit robbery and robbery plus another 240 months for carrying, possessing and discharging a firearm in a relation to a crime of violence. In addition, he must pay $12,542 in restitution and undergo substance abuse treatment. He will serve five years on supervised release at the completion of his prison term.